PM on Delhi-gang rape: Anger, anguish justified

Around 150-200 protesters were at the war memorial at around 10:20 pm when policemen in riot gear arrived at the scene and asked them to vacate the spot. When the protesters refused, they were physically lifted out of the area.

22:44PM on Delhi-gang rape: Anger, anguish justified: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Sunday night, "I assure safety and security to all women in this country. The anger and anguish at this ghastly incident (Delhi gang-rape) is justified."

22:21Home Minister pleads for calm in Delhi: Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde appeals for peace in New Delhi. "Russian President Vladimir Putin is coming tomorrow. We should not send the wrong signals," he said.

"The government has agreed to all the demands of the protestors," he added.

21:10Police fire tear gas at peaceful protestors in Delhi : I have just returned from India Gate in central Delhi where police and paramilitary forces fired tear gas and water cannon at peaceful demonstrators, spectators including families, and mobile television studios at around 5pm at the end of six days of country-wide mass protests sparked by the gang rape of a young woman last Sunday night and subsequent government and police indifference, writes John Elliott, a New-Delhi based journalist.

20:52Cynical to politicise Delhi gang-rape: Tharoor: Shashi Tharoor tweets on Delhi gang-rape: We are all on the same side on the gang-rape horror. It's cynical to
politicize it. We all share the outrage&understand the fears of
people.

20:34Journalists injured during police action at India Gate : Media persons, who were covering protests against the gang-rape of a young girl, today faced the brunt of police action with cops spraying water cannons on scribes and their equipment and even beating up some of them.

As protests reached a crescendo in the evening, media persons covering the protest at India Gate were allegedly targeted by the police.

A senior journalist of a leading English newspaper was beaten up despite showing his identity card. The injured journalist was taken to hospital.

A woman reporter and a camera person of separate English news channels suffered injuries when teargas shells exploded near them.

Tendulkar had been struggling for runs for quite some time, leading to debates how long he should continue playing and today he announced that he will no longer play ODIs.

"I think he really cares for Indian cricket. May be whatever he saw, read and heard might have prompted him to make a call. But I feel, he knows his body well," Gavaskar said.

"He is finishing on 49 ODI hundreds. I would have loved to see him get 50 centuries. That would have been fantastic," Gavaskar told NDTV.

19:54VIP security not excuse for poor policing: Dikshit: Addressing the media after her meeting with Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde Delhi Chief Minister said that she was unhappy with the way the police had handled the situation in the capital in wake of the protests against the gang-rape of a 23-year-old girl.

"VIP security is not an excuse for poor policing. The buck does not stop with junior cops. Responsiblity must be fixed at the highest possible level," she added.

19:32Constable injured at India Gate battles for life: A constable is battling for life in a government hospital after he was critically injured in violence at India Gate where people were protesting the gang-rape of a young girl in a moving bus in New Delhi.

Pawan and Vinay said
they don't want to undergo a test identification parade, reports NDTV.

You can hang
us, one of them reportedly said.

The judge is recording their statement.

15:47Protestors clash with police at India Gate:
There as been a rise in the numbers of protestors at India Gate after police lifted Sec 144. The police fired 20 rounds of tear gas they tried to stop protestors from marching to Raisina Hill.

Protesters pelted stones at the police in reply to the tear gas being used. An unruly mob threw stones at a bus, reports NDTV.

13:54Delhi gangrape: Hazare calls for stricter laws: Extending his support to the protests by youths demanding justice for the Delhi gang-rape victim, anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare on Sunday called for stringent laws and fast-track trials in such cases.

"Youths gathered on the streets to demonstrate are passionate patriots. Their anger and the non-violent ways of demonstration shows that they have full faith in the country's democratic system and the Constitution," Hazare told PTI at Ralegan Siddhi, his native place in the district on Sunday morning.

Minister of State for Home RPN Singh has been made the pointperson by the PM to deal with the Delhi gang-rape case.

12:49RPN Singh: Will put rape cases in fast track courts: After the meeting with the delegation of students protesting against the Delhi gang-rape Minister of State for Home RPN Singh said, "We have assured them that we will put them (rape caes) in fast track Courts and be treated as a rarest of rare cases."

"We are considering their views on changing laws to deal with sexual harassment and have asked them to discontinue the protest. I request the people to maintain calm," he said.

"Did not just talk about the gang-rape victim but also about molestation in general. We discussed security in buses, metro, public transport. Capital punishment is still debatable, different people have different opinions," he added.

12:41Pak series: Dhoni retained skipper, Yuvi returns to ODI fold: Under-fire Mahendra Singh Dhoni today retained captaincy while all-rounder Yuvraj Singh returned to India's ODI team for the first time since last year's World Cup triumph after he was picked in the 15-member squad for the upcoming series against Pakistan.

Yuvraj, who was recalled to the Indian Twenty20 squad for the World T20 within months of recovering from a rare germ cell cancer, played his last ODI against Sri Lanka in the final of the 50-over World Cup last April.

The 23-year-old is facing respiratory problems. She may have to bee put on ventilator again, said the doctors.

The young paramedic student was taken off the ventilator on Friday.

12:10 Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has appealed for peaceful protests against the gang-rape of a 23-year-old girl.

"My
appeal is protest peacefully. And my appeal to the police men is when
you are watching people protesting, then they should be handled
properly. They are not agitating, they are protesting to improve the
situation," she said.

"This is being watched by the whole nation and the
whole world. It is a wake-up call for us. We are a democracy, it's not a
dictatorship. I haven't seen the photos of protest. But lathi charge,
water cannot and tear gas should be the last resort. I have
heard that the barricaded were being broken. The women, protestors
should understand that they should maintain their anger, "she added.

"I have decided to retire from One Day cricket. I feel blessed to have been a part of the World Cup winning Indian team," he said.

Tendulkar's announcement comes as selectors meet to pick up squad against Pakistan.

The BCCI has confirmed his decision to quit.

He is the highest run scorer in ODI history.

More details are awaited.

11:04Delhi gang-rape protesters evacuated forcibly : A day after extraordinary protests in New Delhi that saw
protesters clashing with the police right outside Rashtrapati Bhavan,
Section 144 has been imposed around India Gate. About 60 protesters
camped overnight are being forcibly loaded into buses and being driven
away.

The closing of stations for an indefinite time came following a direction from Delhi Police.

"The stations will remain closed till DMRC gets further orders from the Delhi Police. All the four stations are close to India Gate. However, interchange will be allowed at Central Secretariat station," the officials said.

The decision was taken after protests over the gangrape of a young girl erupted in Raisina Hill, the seat of power.